Raszagal
Matriarch Raszagal is leader of the Dark Templar. She rules from her citadel on Shakuras, the nearly lightless homeworld of the Dark Templar. At 1,045 years of age, she is one of the oldest living Protoss, and of the Dark Templar. She is one of the few old enough to clearly remember Aiur from before their exile. Raszagal is the first female Protoss portrayed by Blizzard Entertainment in StarCraft. (Silendas, another female Protoss, will appear in StarCraft II). Unlike other Dark Templar, she appears to have long psionic appendages. Perhaps it is only necessary to remove the tips of these appendages to sever the link to the Khala. A powerful psychic, with one of the most powerful minds in the galaxy, she has led the Dark Templar Tribes for nearly 500 years. But as she aged, her control over her powers began to slip. Due to this loss of control she became vulnerable to the machinations of Infested Kerrigan. Kerrigan made Raszagal her slave before or early in Episode IV. Raszagal was voiced by Debra Deliso. Welcome to Darkness By the time Zeratul returned to Shakuras, many decades after he had left on missions, bringing the Khalai refugees with him, Raszagal was already under Kerrigan's influence. She was willing to forgive the Protoss of Aiur for exiling the Dark Templar, as the agency that enforced that act, the Protoss Conclave, had been destroyed. She was even willing to make peace with Aldaris, a former member of the Conclave. The Zerg had followed the Protoss to Shakuras, and Raszagal told her now-expanded military of a potential solution: the Xel'Naga Temple. Its powers enable it to destroy the Zerg. Unfortunately, the temple needs the Uraj and Khalis crystals to be activated. Her first request was to destroy the Zerg Cerebrates which had nestled against the Xel'Naga Temple. The Protoss forces were up to the task, slaying both Cerebrates with Dark Templar energies. Strange Alliances Infested Kerrigan appeared to the Protoss military leaders, Artanis, Aldaris and Zeratul, asking for a meeting with Raszagal. The Protoss were even more surprised when Raszagal said she was willing to host a meeting. Kerrigan explained that, with the death of the Zerg Overmind, she was no longer under its control. Mentally, she was back to normal. Unfortunately there was a new Overmind growing on Char, and when it reached maturity, it would take control of her. Zeratul told her he was more concerned with protecting Shakuras than destroying a new Overmind. While Artanis and Zeratul were grudgingly willing to work with Kerrigan, Aldaris stormed out of the meeting. The Zerg had been dealt a harsh blow, but they were still spreading over Shakuras, and there were not enough Protoss to defeat them. Believing the Uraj to be on the world Braxis, she ordered her warriors to retrieve it, "and let nothing stop you from recovering it." Betrayal The Protoss recovered the Uraj and Khalis with help from Infested Kerrigan, but returned to find Shakuras in a state of uproar. The Judicator, Aldaris, had taken control of the Judicator and Templar refugees, and led them in an attack against Raszagal herself. Raszagal claimed they were being driven by their old prejudices, and ordered Zeratul and Artanis to terminate Aldaris. She would tolerate no dissent while the Zerg were poised to strike. Zeratul felt that something was wrong. Raszagal had always been a gentle soul, he told Artanis. Still, he followed her orders. After defeating Aldaris, they tried to convince him to return to the fold. However, Aldaris revealed that someone was manipulating Raszagal... but Kerrigan arrived and killed him before he could say more. For this act, Kerrigan was ordered to leave the planet. Kerrigan boasted that she had manipulated the Protoss into killing her enemies, the Cerebrates of the new Overmind, and told them she would see them "real soon". Defender of the Dark Templar Finally, the time to activate the Xel'Naga Temple had come. Raszagal was elated at the moment. "The time has come to let loose the full fury of our powers! Never again shall Shakuras be despoiled by the foul touch of alien species! These Zerg shall be the first to fall before us!" Zeratul asked Raszagal if she was all right, or if Kerrigan's treachery remained behind, but Raszagal quickly reassured him that she was herself again. While Kerrigan was away, the Protoss upgraded the capital city of Talematros with a Khaydarin Crystal-based defense grid. It created an electromagnetic field which somehow prevented Zerg from maneuvering through the air. Kerrigan braved the possibility of being attacked by the Xel'Naga Temple in order to recover the Matriarch. The Reckoning Raszagal was spirited away to Char, with Zeratul and Artanis following. Zeratul demanded her return, but Kerrigan told him she wanted him to do something first. If he and his Dark Templar would slay the young Zerg Overmind for her, now under the control of the United Earth Directorate, she would allow the Matriarch to return. When Zeratul hesitated, Raszagal convinced him that the Overmind was a threat to the Protoss. Zeratul was forced to agree. After Zeratul slew the second Overmind, Raszagal told him she didn't want to return. Realizing that Raszagal was still under Kerrigan's control, he spirited her away, surprising Kerrigan. Zeratul put her in a Stasis Cell while he could activate the dimensional recall that would enable them to escape from Char. Kerrigan pulled a risky maneuver, however, defeating his forces. Zeratul killed his own Matriarch as there was no hope for them to escape now that Kerrigan has routed his forces, and he refused to allow Raszagal to live on as Kerrigan's slave. As she lay dying, Raszagal told Zeratul that he was the new leader of the Dark Templar.Zeratul: "Damn you, Kerrigan, for what I must do!" Raszagal: "Thank you, Zeratul... You have freed me from her vile control at last. You have always served me with honor... Thus I must ask you... to watch over my tribe... Into your hands I give the future." Kerrigan: "I can hardly believe this! You've killed your own Matriarch!" Zeratul: "Better that I killed her, than let her live as your slave, Kerrigan." StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Level/area: The Reckoning. Kerrigan in an unexpected move allowed Zeratul to leave, claiming that she derives sadistic pleasure from watching him live on in perpetual guilt. While Zeratul was prepared to meet with Artanis, he was distracted by a strange event and did not go back to Shakuras. The current leadership of the Dark Templar is unknown. References * StarCraft homepage at Blizzard Entertainment * Battle.net StarCraft Compendium * Underwood, Peter, Chris Metzen and Bill Roper. StarCraft: Brood War (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998. Category:Protoss Category:characters